The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) last week abruptly canceled two screenings of the hit film Sound of Freedom following media inquiries.
Sound of Freedom, a thriller based on a federal agent’s real-life exploits to infiltrate child sex trafficking rings, is a sleeper film which has so far pulled in over $200 million since its release in July. Starring actor Jim Caviezel as former Homeland Security Agent Tim Ballard, the movie has struck an emotional chord with many Americans who feel organized pedophilia is overlooked.
When House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted a screening on Capitol Hill in July, it reportedly moved some lawmakers to tears.
Last month U.S. Army Garrison-Miami Manager Joanne B. Fitzgerald invited all locally based SOUTHCOM personnel to attend on-base screenings of the film on August 28th and October 19th. Fitzgerald wrote in the emailed invitations that the showings were “[i]n support of SOUTHCOM’s mission to promote respect for human rights and combating trafficking in persons in Central and South America and the Caribbean.”
But the movie has struck a different chord among media operatives and other elites who have tried to discredit the film as racist disinformation funded by child traffickers and tied to the QAnon movement.
The Military Times — one such media site which calls Sound of Freedom a “QAnon-embraced film” — contacted SOUTHCOM upon learning the command had scheduled screenings. SOUTHCOM promptly canceled the screenings following the inquiry, which it claimed was to “prevent the appearance of copyright infringement.” SOUTHCOM added that “the film is currently available to view at local theaters, and personnel and their families who would like to see the film are encouraged to do so.”
“The movie’s central theme and its connection to SOUTHCOM’s AOR [area of responsibility] and our Human Rights Office (HRO) Combatting Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program are inescapable and will serve to raise awareness of the prevalence of trafficking in human persons and sexual abuse and exploitation within our area of responsibility,” SOUTHCOM added in its statement.
In a follow-up statement to The Hill, SOUTHCOM repeated its claim that the decision to cancel the movie showings was based on a review of “applicable laws and regulations governing the use of materials subject to copyright and intellectual property laws for official or recreational purposes.”
But Angel Studios, the film’s distributor, suggests that copyright laws may not be a concern. “AAFES [Army & Air Force Exchange Service] and NAVY currently have access to the film and can provide Sound of Freedom at your movie theatre,” says the distributor’s website.
Angel Studios did not immediately respond to a Frontline News request for comment.
The Military Times suggests the screenings were canceled because the film’s lead actor belongs to a movement that has criticized Joe Biden, rendering the movie “political”:
Originally posted: https://frontline.news/post/us-military-command-cancels-anti-pedophile-film-screenings
Author: Yudi Sherman
